


Part of The Journey is The End

by noodlebowl



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Avengers Feels, Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Emotional Hurt, Endgame, F/M, Heavy Angst, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt Tony Stark, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, Now I'm upset, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Spoilers, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark-centric, Why Did I Write This?, i made my friends cry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2020-02-09 23:52:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18648664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noodlebowl/pseuds/noodlebowl
Summary: You know what they say. Part of the journey is the end.[ SPOILERS FOR A4: ENDGAME ]





	Part of The Journey is The End

**Author's Note:**

> Written by my sad Tony loving ass. He deserves a happy ending, but this fic isn't it.
> 
> [ SPOILERS FOR A4: ENDGAME ]

Paper football seemed funny at the time. An easy way for someone to loose themselves in something stupid, something childish. A way to forget where they are and what's happening around them. More what's _not_ happening around them. It's empty. But everyone likes games, don't they? A simple waste of time. Time they could spend on something more useful than a kids game. Perhaps working on getting the transmitters up and running again, trying to get help. Fixing up the stabilizers, rebooting the entire system, saving power and oxygen by switching out the main processors' focus to something else--

 

_“…Is this thing on? Hey, Ms. Potts.”_

 

He tried it all. They both tried it all, tried it together and apart. Nothing changed, not much at least. Sure, a bit of time was saved here and there. Fuel was saved. Oxygen was saved. But it was never enough, not nearly enough to prove a difference. 

 

_"If you find this recording, don't feel bad about this... Part of the journey is the end."_

 

Tony never liked space. Never liked the vast nothingnesss of it all. Didn't like to be alone like that. In his workshop it was okay, because there was a door he could lock whenever he wanted to, get some privacy. On the other hand, he could also unlock it. Go talk to someone that wasn't F.R.I.D.A.Y. or Dum-E or U. And right here, that's not the case. Sure, he has the company of one person, but it's still a total stranger. He knows her name and that she was part of the others, but there's not much else to it. They never sat down and started sharing, never explained who exactly they were and how they became this way -- they just went straight to work, trying to find a way back home.

 

_“Just for the record, being adrift in space with zero promise of rescue is more fun than it sounds.”_

 

Home still seems far away. It is far away. Out of reach. And Tony doesn't know how to deal with it. Doesn't know how to deal with the fact that he's never gonna be back there again. He always imagined he'd go out with a blast, take some hit during a fight and that'd be it. Or maybe grow old with someone he loves, go to sleep and just never wake up again. Not this. Not whatever pathetic thing this is. A lousy ending, that's for sure. Especially considering all he's pulled through, everything he's survived so far.

 

_“Food and water went out four days ago, oxygen will run out tomorrow morning. That'll be it.”_

 

Thanos had compared them. Claimed that Tony was like him, cursed with knowledge. Knowledge of what? Not how to get back home, not how to save the rest of humanity. Knowledge of what exactly he lost, perhaps. Knowledge of those that he’ll never be able to bring back, simply because he wasn’t strong enough. He looks out the front of the ship again, face to face with one of the things he’s feared most of all — being alone. Solitude. 

 

_"When I drift off, I will dream about you... It's always you."_

 

He lets out one last sigh. And then there's silence.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are appreciated. Help a Tony stan in need.


End file.
